is president of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance

Robert L. Lynch

is president and CEO of Americans for the Arts

With Mayor Nutter's campaign promise to reestablish the city Office of Arts and Culture close to being fulfilled, the challenge now is to ensure it will be an effective force not just for the cultural sector, but for the region.

Just as the mayor seeks to establish a 311 number for coordinating citizen access to city services, a strong Office of Arts and Culture can efficiently coordinate access to the many cultural programs within city government.

Those resources are extensive and include the Mural Arts Program, the Free Library, the Public Art program, the Atwater Kent Museum, the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, and many other programs and services.

The Office of Arts and Culture should also be a central player in discussions of broader policy planning for the region. An effective office can marshal the resources of our cultural sector to help attract new employers, support healthy neighborhoods, and increase the region's population.

In addition, the office should develop and implement an effective long-range strategy to sustain Philadelphia's extensive cultural resources, establish priorities for the future and maximize opportunities. This has been done with great success in cities such as Chicago and Denver. Similar offices exist in New York, Baltimore and Boston - three of Philadelphia's most intense competitors.

The nonprofit arts annually generate more than $1.3 billion in economic activity in Greater Philadelphia, according to a recent study by Americans for the Arts in partnership with the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance.

Americans for the Arts will hold its annual convention this weekend, bringing to town more than 1,400 arts leaders. The group chose Philadelphia because of its cultural legacy, its reputation as a creative destination, and its contemporary leadership in the arts.

When the mayor exceeded his campaign promise and doubled the Philadelphia Cultural Fund from $2 million to $4 million, he sent a clear message that he, too, recognized the intrinsic and economic value of the arts in the city.

Reestablishing an effective Office of Arts and Culture will continue the mayor's strong leadership and represent an important step toward realizing the region's full promise.

It is only appropriate for a city that has been providing cultural leadership to the nation from the very beginning.